The Kansas Department of Transportation received an Advocacy Award for their efforts to preserve the Saline River Bridge located on US Highway 183 in north Ellis County.  The Saline River Bridge was built in 1932 and is a seven-span reinforced concrete bridge with double ribbed open spandrel arches, one of the largest and finest examples of this bridge type in Kansas.  This historic bridge was slated for replacement due to its age.  The KDOT worked with the State Historic Preservation Office to explore ways to preserve the bridge.  As a result, a new bridge will be constructed adjacent to the historic bridge, which will be taken out of service and left in place for future generations to enjoy.  The intricate bridge structure will be visible from the new bridge and will offer a beautiful view of one of Kansas’ engineering accomplishments.

The City of Little River and the Coronado-Quivira Museum were the recipients of an Advocacy Award for their role in supporting excavations at archeological site 14RC410.  In 2004, the City of Little River successfully applied for Community Development Block Grant funds in order to upgrade its sewage lagoon system.  After a lagoon location immediately north of their city’s existing three-cell lagoon system had been chosen and engineering plans had been produced, a review inquiry to the KSHS revealed that a known archeological site was situated beneath the project’s footprint.  A Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Little River and the KSHS (specifying that impact to the site be mitigated through excavation) was signed and major field investigations began.  Despite having scant discretionary funds available, the City of Little River, with monetary assistance from the Coronado-Quivira Museum in Lyons, saw the project through to the conclusion of field investigations.  The project attracted a commendable amount of positive publicity with volunteers from the community assisting with the excavations and several hundred visitors passing through.  The City of Little River and the Coronado-Quivira Museum chose to support and supplement the project to preserve the history and heritage of Rice County and Kansas.